Fantasy Football Player Notes

After averaging an outrageous 7.8 yards per carry as a rookie in 2023, Achane merely averaged 4.5 yards per carry last season. But Achane's receiving numbers soared last year as the Miami passing game became more of a dink-and-dunk attack. In 2023, Achane had 27 catches in 11 games. Last year, he had 78 catches for 592 yards and six TDs in 17 games. The question is whether the Dolphins restore the verticality to their passing game, endeavoring to get Tyreek Hill and Jayden Waddle more involved. If so, Achane might not come close to repeating those stellar receiving totals.
But as I mentioned when we talked about projections that scare us and we got into Tyreek Hill ... Tua Tagovailoa averaged 5.7 intended air yards per throw last year - a career low for Tua and a crazy-low number in general. ... When Tua came back from his concussion last year, he just wasn't throwing downfield very much. It was bad for Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and it was good for Achane and Jonnu Smith.
Achane went from 2.5 catches a game as a rookie to 4.5 catches a game. I just don't know if Achane is going to be quite that busy as a pass catcher if Tua can stay healthy and the Miami passing game is back to normal this year, with much more of a downfield component than we saw in 2024.

Jaylen Wright will battle with Alexander Mattison and Ollie Gordon to be De'Von Achane's backup. He has a leg up entering camp, but we'll have to see if he can secure the job. On a per-carry basis, he did offer some hope with a 5.9% explosive run rate and an 18% missed tackle rate (per Fantasy Points Data). Wright is a decent final-round pick/best ball dart throw.